Daily Republican., 1887-10-31
HALLO " EEN.

HALLOwEEN.
some OF the Customs and Superstitions
of All HaiIow's Eve How 1t Is OBJ
served at Home and Abroad.
To night is Hallow's Eve, snd the
following from the Philadelphia Lsdger
will no doubt prove interesting:
All Hallow's Eve, or, as 1t is more
generally styled, Halloween. derives
% any OF its ass ociAtlons from med sc val
supe rstition, although its origin might
be traced to . period when christianity
this night WAS looked upon rs o time
when supernatural "a 1onces where ell
DO owerfui, and whom spirits walked
about In true ghostly fashion, It's OBJ.
servance was for centuries attended by
. hoet Of weird ceremonies. These GER
elnonIes are SILL recognizable In the
Am use ements set apart for the last even
ing of October, and with which many
Of onr readers have doubtless been fa
miliar from childhood, but In earlier
days the rites connected with Hallow.
cen were regarded In anything but
playful light. A night on which divi.
nation was supposed to be particularly
eficacious WAS not likely 10 be selected |
a. time for sport, while the belief tbA.
spirits might then be sum moned from
their unearthly sbode rather added 10
the solemnity Of the occasion.
But while the historical associations
of Halloween are Of great interest TO
the student, its peculiar charm 10 now
found In the quaint customs that mark
Its observance. Many Of the latter sre
Of romantic nature, and the tender
passion is made the pretext for various
innocent games. such as naming rus
after lovers, looking In the glass TO see
ones future husband, etc. Burne, in
his poem, Untitled Halloween" tells
how
"Ths auld gui wife's wel'-hordlt nits
Are round anh round div ded,
And mony lads and Ia sses' fates
Arc thero that night doo'ded;
Some kindie. iutnie, side by side,
And burn thegiIher trinity;
Some start AVA wi sau y ptide.
| And Jump out o vre the chimly,
| Fu' high that night"
Mute and apples play IN Important
part in the evenings Entertainment,
ard without them half the traditions of
the occasion would be gone. In the
north Of England, indeed, Halloween is
known As Nut crack Night" title
that shows to what an extent nuts arc
used In comm memorstiug 1t. According
to an old Irish superstition young
women can f1nd out II their admirers
are faithful by placing three nuts on
the bars Of q grate and naming them
after the favored ones. Upon the sub.
eeQuent behavior Of the nuts, rs defined
by ancient rules, the true disposition of
tho swaius can be determined.
nnvl. In
/: the mystic rites incident to LII Hallow g
; Eve, as most young people Of the pres.
7 ept day we'll know. The girls and boy Q
= who have not run rhe risk of getting .
winters cold by 'bobbing" for apples
or of endansering their teeth by at
tempting 70 bite the fruit as 1t hung
= temptingly on string above thetI
heads are usually suppoted to have
Q been born under unlucky stars.
:. The uncertainty OF such sport gives
8 1t Q piquAnoy tina. 1t w.uld not other
wise possess and when the "bobber,"
who has been ducking his head in {
d tub OF water for half an hour, finally
brings up IN apple, c!inched between
9 his teeth, he has his good fortune sut
d not his skill to thark A time honoret
r custom, although QUE tina. Is not nov
}. AZ popular as "bobbiop," is that o
hanging stick from the ceiling In ;
horizontal position, and patting 1
E lishted candle on one end Of 1t and al
= apple on the other. The stick, which il
r placed little above the heads OF Hal
d loween merry makers, 10 then given
!. rapid twirl, and the young men ant
maidens In succession try to catch th'
!. apple with their teeth by leaping up Q
# 1t as 1t SPINS around 1t often happens
!. however, that Instead OF selzing th'
!. apple the players get scorched by th'
candle or covered with grease.
The pulling Of "Sailstocks, /" or stalk
o of cole wort, on Halloween Is still pre-
Q valsnt in parts Of Scotland. The younl
!, people of the party. atter being blind
folded, 60 into the ''kailyard" hand II
hand, and each one pulls the first stall
Q that he comes a ,Ross. On their return
IL ing to the house the pr.zes are exam
:. ined and as each stalk is large or small
straight or crooked, so will the HUSBAND
or vile Of the owner be. The temper O
y the unknown one lie indicated by th
taste OF the pith. while the amount o
u earth clinRing TO the root denotes tb
extent of fortune or dowry. When tn
stalks have been inspected they ar
placed over the door, one above th
d other, and the Christian names OF In
J. future bride CT groom will be the sam
!. as those borne by the persons who sub
l. ssquently enter the house, according 3
!. the order In which they 60 in.
Another occult rite, which has tn
70 advantage OF being an indoor affair, /
u what 10 called luzgiss. This coD sists
y setting before the hearth three dishes
10 one OF which is empty while ths othe
n two are filled respectively with olea
.. and dirty water, and having the lad,
10 who are blindfolded, advance In sut
q cessiou and dip their hngers into one
J. them. II the young man is fortunat
l. enough to touch the dish with the olsa
n water, he will marry maiden; and
Do he vets his hand In ths foul water, b
q is to espouse widow; but IL the empt
d dish Is selected, he 10 doomed 70 die
q bachelor. The game may also be play 9
l. BY such Of the lassies =, ore clriou
u enough to find out whether they wi
ie marry youths or widowers, or live
Q, the saclus.on that old maidhood grant
But this kind of fortune telling
5. very pastoral when compared to I'll
p. spell OF ea,ing an apple before loo
O. Ing glass, to which Barns refers whe
. he relates how wee Jenny" to b
10 granny says:
" "Will ye 90 wi me, granny? I'll e
le the apple at the glass;"
al "I gat frse Uncle Johnny"
3. Tho youuu No ,vpan whn will hra-